Dog Licensing
Effective *May 7, 2023*, the City of Yakima Code Administration handles all dog license applications and renewals.
All new dog license applications and renewals are handled through our Online Portal – www.buildingyakima.com.
*Ordinance 2023-13
Submitting a Dog License Application
All adult dogs within the city limits of Yakima shall be licensed (see Ord. 2023-013 for exceptions and further details). In the case of a newly acquired dog, a dog license application shall be submitted within thirty days of either the date of acquisition or the date when the dog reaches six months of age, whichever comes later. One license per dog is required.
To obtain a license for your dog, please sign in or create an account on our Online Portal – www.buildingyakima.com. This is the same portal that the City of Yakima has available for customers to apply for permits, pay fees, and schedule inspections.
If you are creating an account, you will receive an email from SmartGov with a link to verify your new account. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder and ensure your email address was typed correctly when signing up for the new account. If you have an uncommon domain name, you may try signing up with an email address that has a more common domain name (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.).
After verifying your account, navigate to “My Portal,” and then select “Apply Online.”
For the category, select “Code Administration – Licensing” from the drop-down menu. Then you will be able to select whether you want to apply for a one-year license that you will have to renew every year, or a three-year license that you will only have to renew every three years. You may also consider the difference in cost before choosing which license you will apply for; see fee table below.
License Fees
| Dog License (Altered) 1 year | $25.00 |
| Dog License (Unaltered) 1 year | $75.00 |
| Dog License (Altered) 3 year | $60.00 |
| Dog License (Unaltered) 3 year | $180.00 |
| Replacement Tag | $10.00 |
| Dog License for Senior Citizen (62+) (Altered) 1 year | $12.50 |
| Dog License for Senior Citizen (62+) (Unaltered) 1 year | $37.50 |
| Dog License for Senior Citizen (62+) (Altered) 3 year | $30.00 |
| Dog License for Senior Citizen (62+) (Unaltered) 3 year | $90.00 |
In the “Doing Business As” field, you may enter your name as the license holder.
Complete the remaining information in the licensing wizard as it pertains to you as the license holder and the dog that you are seeking the license for. NOTE: This info must be updated each time you renew your license.
Once you submit, a message will appear with your license/application number confirming that your application has been submitted, and that you will receive an email from SmartGov. You can select “Go to my new license” to view your license application and submit payment.
Click on “Pay Online” to pay the required license fee (view instructions for paying online here).
Your license application will be reviewed by staff. Once approved, we will mail you your license and dog tag within 14 business days.
Renewing a Dog License
A few weeks prior to the license expiration, a reminder letter will be sent to the license holder. If you have not renewed prior to the expiration date, you will have to apply for a new license.
How to renew your license:
1) Log into your account on the online portal: www.buildingyakima.com
2) Go to “My Portal;”
3) Navigate to the “My Applications” section;
4) Locate the license;
5) Next to the license, click the “renew” button. The information from your original registration will
automatically populate. Please update any outdated information, including your age;
6) Follow the prompts to pay the renewal fee.